Role of Steering Committee

By. Rebecca Roehrich April 14, 2004 Pre-Conference Role of Steering Committee  The steering committee for the Student Mediation Conference meets about 1x/month. They help plan both the annual conference and the mini- conference.  Generally, students are encouraged to contribute as much as possible and are usually asked to help design the t-shirts, update role plays as needed, help with the opening session, and serve as representatives of the greater student population.  Members of the steering committee facilitate workshops at the conference and help to present workshops at the facilitator training.  Generally steering committee members also decide who will be the guest speakers and Marge sends the invitations.  Marge also generally works with the ICAR contact in getting lunch established. Daren is our contact there and he and his staff were very helpful last year.

Registration Information  Around late November, before the brochures go out, you should print up an one-page announcement making people aware that a registration brochure will be on the way (one for FCPS and Non-FCPS). The one I used is saved under the Mediation Conference 2004 folder, Brochure et al, and it’s the Flyer document. These should go out to all the schools you’ll be sending brochures to so basically send it out to contacts from last year, Principals and Guidance Directors at FCPS schools, and those in the Mailing Information table in the database. Make copies to send out on colored paper.  Before getting the brochures printed you’ll need to get approval -- fill out a Print Request for each brochure (FCPS and Non-FCPS). Fax to Ebie at the Government Center to get an estimate.  After you’ve received approval and have updated the brochure you take it to her. Generally, she should have the print order by the first week in December. When you take in hard-copies to her ask when you need to have the manuals to her to get printed – she’ll want to know when you need them by and you’ll need them before the facilitator training (at least the facilitator manuals). Getting approval for the brochures may take a couple weeks so starting the process in mid-November is a good idea.  When you get the print order back from Ebie with a job number in the upper right hand corner make 2 copies and give one to Charlene and one to Joanne.  While waiting for the brochures you’ll need to order enough mailing seals to seal the brochures (staples are easier if you can get approval to do that instead…. I think the reason for the seals was that the mail people complained that due to the volume of brochures it ate up their hands to be dealing with staples…I’m still not sure entirely). Also order mailing labels to print addresses on.  In the meantime you’ll also need to update the brochure insert. The insert goes in all the brochures (FCPS and Non-FCPS) and there is no distinction between the inserts. After you’ve updated it you get to stand at the copier for a very long time making copies of it.  To send out the information to as many people as possible I used the information from last year’s contact people and from the Mailing Information database to try and get all the bases covered. In addition to these specific schools, you should also send about 20 brochures to Allison Sterns at Prince William County and about 20 brochures to the D.C. contact (ask Marge for the name – Gloria McCollum I think), and about 20 to Mary Flynt at Alexandria City Public Schools.  How you decide to stuff and send the brochures is up to you. The first year we had an assembly line going and that worked well; the next year I stuffed and sealed them myself, and that worked fine too and went quickly.

Web page  When the logistics are decided (when, where, etc.) contact Robin Sheare so she can put that information under Plans for 2005 conference on the Conferences Page.  Also, when the facilitator registration information is available send that to her so she can add that as well.  The registration brochure should be sent to her when it is ready…it should go on the home page and under Plans for 2005 in pdf form.

VIP’s  This is another issue that the steering committee will have to decide on: what kind of special treatment will VIPs receive? Last year we did a breakfast and the year before that we just acknowledged them.  The VIP’s should receive a special invitation on letterhead and a brochure. In the past, Marge has written the letter.  A good system for addressing the invites has never been determined. If it’s ok with Marge I think you could just do the FCPS leadership team, School Board, Board of Supervisors, and any people that steering committee members suggest from their respective organizations. For all FCPS addresses use the SDFY database and confer with Charlene first.  This process is the most frustrating. No matter how soon you start it, they won’t go out until late January, early February. The sooner the better obviously.

Manuals  The next big print job is the manuals. Last year we tried to make them so that they were generic enough that they could be used from year to year so hopefully you won’t need to make any changes to them although that’s probably wishful thinking.  You’ll need to get an estimate from Ebie as to how much they’ll cost in order to fill out the print order. Probably do this no later than first or second week of December.  The only change you’ll definitely need to make is to change the copyright date on the inside cover to 2005.  After any revision, put it in PDF form and save to a zip drive.  Print a hard copy of the manuals.  The hard copy and the zip drive need to get to either Ebie or the guy who does the printing. Ebie can probably tell you whether it would be easier to have you drop it off at the Government Center and have the guy pick it up there or if it would be better for him to just come by here and pick it up (he seems to prefer the latter situation because we’re closer to him than the Government Center).  When you get the print order form back from Ebie with a job number in the upper right hand corner then make 2 copies and give one to Charlene and one to Joanne.

T-shirts  Reston T-shirts is our supplier and you should contact them to determine the due date for the order so to have them finished by the facilitator training.  Students on the steering committee generally come up with the design and then Robin Sheare and/or the people at Reston T-shirts help format it.  You’ll also need to get permission for this purchase so you’ll need to fill out a purchase order a couple weeks before you plan on getting the t-shirts printed.

Registration  First you should realize that the deadline is considered merely a suggestion and that most of your registrations will come in 2 weeks after the deadline has already passed.  The database is set up by day (i.e. Day 1 and Day 2) because most of the reports you’ll need to run will be based by day. This does mean that you’ll need to enter any facilitators who are available both days twice. If you know a better way to do it I’d encourage it, but that was as far as my Access knowledge allowed me to go and it worked well enough.

Facilitators  To recruit facilitators send out a mass email to adult facilitators from last year via the database information and to those in the notebook who indicated they wanted to be included. In the email just send out the information and attach a registration form and ask if they’d be interested/available to participate this year.  Marge generally sends out a request on the NVMS list serve and I put up an announcement on the ICAR Forum. Also, I put up an announcement in ICAR and dropped of a Facilitator Registration packet that included conference details and registration information.  I made a few suggestions about facilitator related items and saved to a document on SMC 2005 Suggestions.  The request for student facilitators is included in the Brochure insert.

Creating the Workshops  After you’ve received most of the facilitator registrations and participant registrations – and BEFORE the facilitator training – you need to create the workshops.  I’d recommend creating the workshops by participants first and that will determine how many facilitators you’ll need. If you go the other way, facilitators first and then placing participants in the workshop, you risk having workshops with too few people.  As you’re placing students in workshops have a couple workshops that could allow for a few more students to be added (plan for late registrations!). In other words, don’t fill them all to the maximum capacity. Usually it’s good to have between 15-20 people in a workshop total. I had workshops with fewer and workshops with many more but that’s not advisable. Workshop 6 will be huge (i.e.50-60 participants). I suggested on the Suggestions for 2005 to put a limit to the number of students each school can send. Some schools were sending 10 kids for that one workshop and that crowds room for other schools to send students and it makes the workshop overwhelming.  Try to get a mix of schools in the workshops (usually about 3), but don’t split the groups too much. Especially on the elementary day counselors and teachers will want their students close together.  Many schools will send chaperones to go with their students to the workshops. Usually try to have at least one adult chaperone in a workshop (in addition to the adult facilitator). If possible, avoid putting multiple adults in a workshop, as they tend to sit in the back and chat.  Also consider times that facilitators indicate they are available for training and pair students and adults that are available for similar times…this will make the facilitator training schedule easier to determine….see next section for clarification.  Hopefully by this time you’ll also have room numbers and you can then assign the workshops to the rooms available on GMU’s campus. The table GMU Room Logistics on the database has some of the room specifications so you can have an idea of which rooms would be better suited for which workshops.

Facilitator Training  Due to the number of facilitators that participate, it is impossible to fit them all in Seminar Room A here so in the past we’ve divided it into two sections of 1-½ hours with lunch in between (session 1 from 10:00-11:30 and session 2 from 12-1:30). If possible see about creating the sessions to be a full 2 hours (maybe 9:30-11:30 and 12:00-2:00). It will help make the opening session less rushed and allow more questions about workshop presentations. Just a thought.  You will need to schedule 3 workshop trainings in the first session and 3 workshop sessions in the second session (i.e. workshops 1,3,5 session 1 and workshops 2,4,6 session 2). I’d recommend keeping workshops 1 and 2 at different times since they will be the ones using the most facilitators.  This is where the pairings become important. When you pair the facilitators and make their workshop assignment, try to make sure that the workshop they will be facilitating is training at a time that is convenient for them to attend. For schools this is particularly important as they have different bus times and other activities that they need to be back for. This becomes even more complicated because then you need to look at the schools and determine if they should all be facilitating workshops 1,3,5 or workshops 2,4,6. In other words, don’t schedule a school to send facilitators to both sessions…that’s too difficult for them to manage and very inconvenient.  For adults outside the school system, if they are volunteering on both days, try to put them in the same workshop so they do not need to attend 2 sessions (also, try to put them with the same group of students if possible on both days).  The training is generally held the first or second week in February. This means that assignments need to be made by the end of January so that you can let the facilitators know what session of the training they are to attend.  By the training you will need to have at least the facilitator manuals and t- shirts. Also, you should make copies of an agenda, a map of the campus, and any handouts they should have for the general session (usually include the handouts in one package).  Now, getting the facilitators their workshop, room number, and co-facilitator’s contact information is the trick. The best method I could come up with was to create a report that is divided by workshop (this is where the workshop section comes in handy). The report is saved on the database under Day 1 Facilitator Pairings and Day 2 Facilitator Pairings. Print one original and make about 2 or 3 copies. Then, make labels of each facilitator’s name, workshop number, and day they’re facilitating (if possible). Then, go through each day’s pairings and attach each facilitator’s name label to their corresponding page of information. Keep separate by workshop (and therefore by training time) and then alphabetize. This method will also allow you to see who attended the training and got their information and who did not.  On the day of the training, have one area with the information sheets laid out alphabetically, nametags, agenda and handouts. Another area should have the manuals and another area should have the t-shirts.  Generally, have at least one person sitting where the information sheets and nametags are. In the past someone from SDFY has done that. Someone should be handing out the manuals (last year students from the steering committee did that and they actually stuffed the manuals with the agenda and handout package and that worked well). Finally, have about 2 people watching over the t-shirts. The t-shirts are free to facilitators and often if a facilitator cannot attend they may have someone pick up their information (adults and students alike). To avoid having people pick up free t-shirts for friends, brother, sisters, whatever, I used the information sheets as verification of the person’s participation; so, if someone was picking up information for a friend (and for themselves) they needed to pick up that person’s information sheet and show it to the t-shirt hander-outers in order to pick up their t-shirt.  For lunch you’ll need to order a lot of pizza! It should arrive in 2 deliveries… one slightly before the end of the first session and one slightly before the beginning of the second session. You’ll need to request the credit card for this purchase and it might be enough of a dollar amount that you’ll need to have multiple signatures so request it at least a week in advance from Joanne.  Also, the day before or weekend before the training you’ll need to pick up soda, plates, napkins, and cups for everyone. Request the credit card from Joanne at least 3 days in advance.  Generally, Marge will do the opening introductions and the steering committee will present whatever other general information is necessary. I’d recommend that you not be a part of the presentation time unless absolutely necessary so that you can be running around doing damage control and responding to random questions and situations.  For the second half of the training, steering committee members will present the workshops to the trainees in separate rooms. This should be determined probably at the January steering committee meeting.  In between sessions, in addition to monitoring the lunch line situation, pick up the remaining session 1 facilitator information sheets and set out the session 2 sheets.  After cleaning up everything you’ll need to take stock of which facilitators didn’t make it to the meeting (by looking through the remaining information sheets). Your next step will be contacting them and arranging for them to either come to the office and get the stuff (preferable, so that you or Marge can give them a personal mini-training) or send it to them.

Confirmation Packets  After the workshops have been created, and usually after the facilitator training, the next step is getting together the confirmation packets to send out.  You’ll need manila envelopes and mailing labels for this process as well as sheets of sticky nametags that you can print on the color printer.  You’ll need to make copies of several things to include in the packet: contact letter, map of the campus, agendas (keep separated by day), list of workshop room assignments by school (this should have the school name, the workshops of the students, the room numbers, and the names), a copy of the pin order form (if applicable), a t-shirt order form, and a security information page.  The t-shirt order form is saved to a disk enclosed in the notebook because the Publisher on my computer wouldn’t open it. Before you send it out be sure to change the fax number to 208-6418 instead of 208-6410.  Make labels from the database (labels for FCPS can just have the contact’s name and the school name because they’ll go through Pony; labels for Non- FCPS need the whole address; it’s advisable to have return labels as well on all of them just in case).  You’ll also need to make nametags (or have someone make them…usually Chau did this for us…there’s an example of the nametags in the example confirmation packet).  Then, you stuff it all in the envelope, label the envelope, and send it out. You should include as many nametags as there are participants (including adults but not including facilitators because they’ll get their own).

Workshop Codes  Each workshop should have a unique code for the day of. This will be used on the evaluation forms to retain anonymity.  I used the following system: the first number represented the day (either 1 for first day or 2 for second day), the second number was the workshop number (1-10), the third number represents the level (either 1 for HS, 2 for MS, or 3 for ES), the fourth represents the building…for this I listed the buildings and assigned them numbers (for example, Robinson A was 1, Robinson B was 2, Johnson Center was 3, Fine Arts was 4, and Enterprise Hall was 5), and the final number was the room number (if it was room 203 then the last three numbers were 203…in the case of the Johnson Center I assigned values to the letters so that A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.). So, for example, a middle school student who attends on the second day of the conference in workshop 3 in Robinson B 208 should be instructed by the facilitators to fill in the following code on his/her evaluation scantron: 2322208.

Finances  FCPS schools do not need to submit any payment for registration. SDFY office grants will cover the cost for up to 2% of a school’s population to attend.  Non-FCPS schools must pay $25/person.  There is a table on the Registration database that is for Registration Finances; I generally just put the basic information in there and updated it as checks arrived.  Make 2 copies of the checks, keep one copy for yourself, and give the check and the other copy to Joanne. She’ll deposit the checks and give you a register of the checks deposited.  Invoices should go out about the week after the facilitator training. In the past Arlington schools have all gone through one office, as have Alexandria schools, D.C. schools do somewhat. This just means that you’ll need to make one invoice with all the schools included in the final tally instead of sending individual invoices to the schools.

Facilitator Packet Stuffing  This should be done one or two days before all boxes will need to be picked up from Devonshire and taken to GMU. It will require help from the office.  You will need to order supplies for the workshops before stuffing the envelopes. There is a list on the network of the supplies needed and you can compare that with the list of box inventory.  Generally, each workshop gets 3 sheets of chart paper (Workshop 3 should have 6-7), at least 2 markers, and 1 4x6 card for each participant (if you continue to do the closing activity as it is noted).  Some workshops have particular supplies that go with them. There’s a list of the supplies needed for each workshop (I think its saved under SMC 2003). Go over that and compare what you have with what you need.  You will need to make copies of the facilitator evaluation forms (one for each facilitator), evaluation instructions (one for every workshop), and workshop lists (one copy for your use at the conference, one copy to tape on the outside of the big envelope, and one copy to hang outside the workshop room door on the day of the conference), and the “how to fill out a scantron form” (one for every workshop).  For the actual stuffing it seems that an assembly line works best (it’s not a great system, but a better one was never invented). The first person should tape a copy of the workshop roster on the outside of the big envelope. The little envelopes also need to have the workshop code on them and they should be stuffed with enough evaluation forms for the facilitators to fill out, one sheet of evaluation instructions, a copy of the scantron instruction form, enough peacemaker pencils for each participant and facilitator to receive one, and a regular pencil for each participant to fill out the evaluation with. Meanwhile the big packet should be stuffed with 4x6 index cards (one for each participant) if you keep the closing activity as is, chart paper, and two markers. The little packet then goes inside the big packet.

Extra Touches  The boxes of supplies and manuals should be arranged to be picked up by the county Pony service and dropped off at GMU the day before the conference. You or Marge will need to meet them at GMU to unload. Charlene can arrange for the pick-up. Tell her about a month in advance.  For sign-in on the day of the conference we generated large posters of the names of the schools that were attending. If you send the lists to Robin Sheare she can put them on large poster boards. Marilyn brought stickers so that she could put one next to the name of each school as they checked in.  Before the big day you’ll need to make several sets of copies: several hundred copies of the GMU map (depending on your registration numbers), several hundred copies of the agenda (depending on daily registration numbers), a few copies of several different types of reports by day (alphabetical list by last name of participants, their school, and workshop room; list by workshops (like the one hanging outside the room doors and included in the facilitator packets); and list of workshops by schools (like the one you sent in the confirmation packet)).  Facilitator and Steering Committee name badges. These groups of people receive hanging name badges. There is a template for them saved in the Facilitator folder from 2004 and the Steering Committee folder from 2004. You basically just need to change the bottom portion (either Facilitator or Steering Committee) and then do a mail merge from their respective database tables. You’ll then need to assemble them in the annoying hanging badges. For the facilitators, keep them separated by day and alphabetical by last name.  Create a list, by day, of all the rooms within each building that are being used. There should be one page per building. This will help when you’re setting up. Whoever is doing that can then just go to the rooms that are being used and not have to search and guess. Conference Set up  Usually the steering committee will decide what time everyone should arrive at the February meeting but it generally is about an hour before registration starts.  In the morning you’ll need people to unpack the manual boxes and put them on the side registration tables.  Someone should be in charge of laying out the t-shirts. **Don’t forget to bring money to make change for the t-shirts (I always forgot!)**  Someone should be in charge of laying out the facilitator name badges and getting the packets ready to distribute.  This is not to say that you necessarily will need to assign someone to a job….usually everyone chips in wherever they’re needed.  A few people will need to go through the buildings and hang up one of the rosters outside the room, make sure the doors are unlocked, and put a few slabs of masking tape on the corner of a table. Give each person a list of the rooms being used in whatever building they are going to set up. Keep that list because it’ll be needed at the end when they have to go back through and clean up.  Generally the registration table is just for questions and concerns that come up. The sign in boards will be in front of the table and whoever is in charge of that is the only official form of sign-in that schools need to go to.  After that they go to one of the tables on the sides of the registration tables and pick up a manual, copy of the day’s agenda, and copy of a map of GMU if needed.  For the SDFY office, make up a sheet of assignments and distribute it a couple days before the conference (Clarence generally likes to hold the sign outside next to the George Mason statue, Diane and Bev do t-shirts (although there is much bickering and squabbling over who gets this coveted job), and Eileen and Liz usually hold signs.

Registration  Usually this only involves having the schools check in with Marilyn at the sign- in poster and then getting their materials.  It also means having someone available to ask any questions that might come up and troubleshooting.  At this time someone may also need to be coordinating set up of the opening session media presentation (if you choose to do one….VHS, Power Point, or whatever).

Opening Session  You probably won’t have to do much at this point. Marge generally does introductions and last year we had the students on the steering committee do introductions of VIPs and speakers. You should probably be floating around, checking that all facilitators are checked in, cleaning up here and there, dealing with late arrivals, and getting everyone who’s holding signs after the opening session squared away for their next assignment.  At the end of the opening session be sure to be behind the registration desk, you will receive a barrage of questions about where to go, what time lunch is, etc.  After it appears that most people have dispersed, send people with walkie- talkies and a master list to all of the buildings to check that the workshops are set and that there are no stragglers or lost students. You should also do a sweep through of all the buildings to make sure everything is set. Someone does need to stay at the registration desk with a walkie-talkie as a contact point.

Lunch  How this works will depend on the system you establish with Darren in Food Services. Whatever they need to take down, set up, re-arrange, etc. will have to be pre-arranged.  2004 we used the lobby in front of Dewberry Hall where Registration had been set up. Someone stood at the top of the stairs, halfway down the stairs, and at the bottom of the stairs directing students and teachers to form 2 lines going up the stairs and 2 lines going down. Other people directed traffic flow through the lines and back out and around.  It really depends on how you set it up to work beforehand with Darren.

Closing  After lunch you should probably take another sweep of the buildings while lunch is being broken down (after you eat of course!).  On the first day you basically just need to straighten things and hide boxes under the tables to set out for the next day. On the second day you’ll need to pack things back up in boxes (make sure you bring packing tape) and arrange for them to be taken back to the office. Usually, it goes in multiple cars driven by SDFY staff.  You will need 2-3 large boxes labeled for Evaluations and Miscellaneous (this includes paper, markers, pencils, supplies, etc.) set up at the Registration Table. Facilitators should turn in the completed evaluations in the Evaluations box and other stuff goes in Miscellaneous. It helps to have 2-3 people manning these boxes and they can be sorting stuff out simultaneously.  Send out people to take down the workshop sheets that they taped up in the morning and to collect the mediation posters using the list of rooms in each building. On Day 1, they’ll need to put up new workshop sheets the next day and put the posters in the rooms corresponding to workshops 1 and 2. On Day 2 they’ll need to straighten the rooms and bring the mediation posters back to be packed. Post-Conference

Thank you’s  By far the most important thing to do is make sure you thank everyone profusely…. chances are they’ve been most helpful doing the little things.  Send out an email to the facilitators thanking them. Marge usually drafts a letter as well that can be attached.  Send out an email to the Steering Committee thanking them for all their involvement.

Packing Up  After you’ve recuperated from the post-conference adrenaline rush you’ll want to get rid of all the boxes that will invade your cubicle ASAP.  The only thing this requires is for you to make a list of what’s in each box. There should be a master list and you should have a list attached to the outside of each box. However you pack it is up to you.

Evaluations  First, separate the facilitator forms from the scantrons (keep separate by day!)  Then, take the scantron forms and go through and make any necessary corrections (this will include filing in bubbles that are not filled in completely, filling in workshop codes, erasing incorrectly entered workshop codes and correcting them, erasing stray marks on the sheet, and generally making sure they are acceptable for evaluation).  You’ll then need to decide, with Marge and anyone else involved in the evaluation process, how you want to have them broken down (which questions and in what way) so you can tell the evaluators what you’re looking for.  Carolyn Hand and Kathy Zora are the people who have done the evaluations in the past. Contact them about this time and let them know you’ll need these evaluated. Generally there’s no rush in getting these done and since they’re both part-time it may take a while to get things squared away. Be flexible. You may need to run the scantrons through the machine or they may prefer to do it.

Office Thank-You’s  The office may receive a gift similar to that of the Steering Committee gift (see below) but that really depends on the amount ordered.  If not, a nice, personalized thank-you note is good or a certificate.

Steering Committee Celebration  Lastly, there will be an end-of-conference celebration with the Steering Committee.  Marge generally takes charge of this area, but it basically entails planning a get-together that is convenient for most of the steering committee members to provide a wrap-up and thank-you!  You and Marge will also need to come up with a gift idea. In the past its been a mug, snow globe, peacemaker pencil picture frame, long-sleeve/sweatshirt shirt.